


a highway with no one on it

by pure_of_heart



Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: Fluff, Humour, M/M, Mentions of Suicide, but theyre alluded to, mentions S6, mentions of depression, not straight up mentions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:14:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27930589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pure_of_heart/pseuds/pure_of_heart
Summary: How certain members of Downton's staff found out about Thomas and Richard
Relationships: Thomas Barrow/Richard Ellis
Comments: 26
Kudos: 111





	1. Mrs. Hughes

**Author's Note:**

> this is loosely inspired by what went on in the TBDS on tumblr
> 
> pls note that not all chapters will be this long idk why this one is so long it just is lmao
> 
> title is from All I Want Is You by U2

Mrs. Hughes finds out because she is no fool.

The housekeeper has known Mr. Barrow since he started at Downton in 1910. He was bright-eyed, fresh faced and all too eager to be out and about in the world on his own. But beneath it all, she noticed the lingering sadness in his eyes that, not that she was aware at the time, would never truly go away no matter how old he got.

She watched as he had moments of pure happiness, when his smile was genuine, and he controlled his scalding wit and sarcastic remarks. She watched as his smile would fade and die out, rarely to be seen. Heard the scathing words he spat at his co workers because he blamed them for his bad fortune.

He wasn’t her favourite. She preferred keeping company with William or the maids, they were too shy to say anything out of line when she was around. She recalls sitting at the servant’s hall table with a few maids for a short break and watching O’Brien poison Thomas against everyone with her wicked words. How he became closed off, and found comfort in perhaps the worst person to find comfort in.

Elsie confesses, there were moments when she’d have liked nothing more than to give Thomas a good slap round the head. Where she’d want to give as good as he gave and see how he felt when the harsh words were directed at him.

Then the war happened, and she saw a different side to him.

He was still rude, and never missed a chance to bring others down, but he had seen death. Touched it, smelled it. He was gone for two years. Two years in thick mud, thick blood, thick everything. She lay awake at night, thinking of him. Hoping and praying that everyone who left this great house would return, in one way or another.

When he returned, she was glad. There he was, no missing limbs and seemingly fine. He wore a glove on his left hand, a crude contrast to the pale skin on his opposite hand. The hall boys and maids were fascinated, asking questions of how he got it. She watched as he spun a story of bravery and heroics. A story of lies.

She was no fool. She had seen the men upstairs. How they flinched at loud noises, how they screamed at night, how some could barely stand to look in a mirror. She had heard their stories, how almost every single one of them wished they had come home sooner, anything to get them out of that man-made hell across the water.

She was no fool, she had heard Thomas’ cries in the night. Whether he was asleep or awake, they were always muffled, and he never spoke about it or asked for help.

She only wishes Thomas would not think himself a coward. She sees the way he stares longingly at his hand, desperate for the pinky and ring finger to move properly. She does what she can when she notices him struggling. In winter, she makes sure to make his tea extra hot so he can wrap his hand around the warm porcelain.

He does not say thank you, but his smile returns for quite a while.

It goes like this for quite some time. Thomas smiles and laughs, then drops down again so low she thinks he must only be able to see their shoes. It’s love, she knows it’s love. Nothing else could turn such a handsome young man so miserable.

It’s only when Jimmy comes around, and O’Brien schemes, that she understands even more than she did before.

It was not just love. It was forbidden love. Love that could get him sent to jail, perhaps even killed. Love that he had been taught to feel ashamed of, to the point where he was shameful of everything else he did, love or not.

She holds him as he cries.

He thinks it is the first time she has seen him cry.

It is not.

Time passes, and she watches him sink lower than he has ever been before. He passes her in the servant’s hall, and Thomas look’s as if he has been told his whole family has just been put to death.

He says goodbye, she asks where he is going.

He says he doesn’t know, and she blames herself for not seeing the signs that were right in front of her.

Later, when she has scrubbed the bathroom clean and her hands are pink, she sits by his bedside. His left hand sits in hers, and she wonders when she last saw him smile.

She cannot remember.

She helps him on his journey back to happiness, and she knew it would not be easy but she didn’t think it would be this hard. There are days when Thomas does not move from his bed, days where she sees him have a sip of tea at dinner and nothing more. She does what she can.

He says thank you, but his smile does not return for quite a while.

Then, the Royal Visit happens.

Mr. Ellis is…different.

His co-workers are less than pleasant, but the valet is the only one who actually gets along with the staff at Downton.

Thomas says he will sort out the Royal footmen, and he and Mr. Ellis leave that night.

His smile returns, and she waits day after day for it to leave again. Ready with blankets and tea and comfort. But it never falls.

It is only when Mr. Ellis arrives at Downton, saying he quit his job and has applied for Downton. At first, she thinks he is stupid. A job in the Royal Household and he has left it for some house in the countryside.

But Thomas’ smile gets bigger, his laughter louder, and she realises it’s him.

She makes Richard a cuppa and puts away the spare blankets and her secret stash of tea.

She has a feeling she will not need them for a while, perhaps not ever.

She is right.


	2. Anna

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dis one shorter

Anna finds out because she forgets to knock.

She’s not meant to be working, her belly swollen far past the point of comfort. But she has promised John that tomorrow is her last day, and after that she will lift up her feet until she feels contractions.

It’s late, her husband is waiting with little Johnny by the door. She tells them she just has to fetch something from the boot room. She forgets to knock.

She almost gasps, but holds it in. The sight is, after all, not that scandalous. To her, at least.

Thomas stands with his back to the door, leaning against the table. Mr. Ellis has his arms around the butler’s neck, and they are whispering sweet nothings, unaware of the third person in the room.

Before she can think, she shuts the door right away. She is careful not to make a sound, and once she in certain she is in the clear, she walks away.

John asks where the thing she needed to fetch is.

She tells him it wasn’t important and that she can get it tomorrow.

That night, she lulls Johnny to sleep with his usual bedtime tale of princesses and knights, and her son does not utter a sound when the princess is not present, but rather, a prince.


	3. Mrs. Patmore

Mrs. Patmore finds out because of picky eating habits.

They are having a buffet tonight. The servants are all excited in the change of routine.

A sudden spout of bad weather has caused the guests the Grantham’s were supposed to be welcoming tonight unable to make it. Barrow asked what they should do with all the food, and Lord Grantham suggested a buffet for both upstairs and downstairs.

Thus, the food was divided, and here they are.

Mrs. Patmore has a trained eye when it comes to food, and so she notices how Andy avoids the seafood, and Anna tries to keep her plate clear of as much meat as possible. The baby doesn’t like meat, it seems.

The telephone rings in Mr. Barrow’s office, and he rushes to answer it, leaving behind his empty plate in the process.

It is Mr. Ellis who picks it up and begins piling food onto it as he does his own.

That is when she notices.

He grabs some extra white wine sauce for himself, but only puts a little on Thomas’ plate. She knows this is because Thomas does not favour the sauce in great quantities, but she has known him for seventeen years. Ellis, however, has known him for six months.

Next, it’s the salad. It’s a rather boring salad, if anyone’s asking Mrs. Patmore. She had whipped it up quickly once she noticed the Crawley family had taken most of the good salads.

But Mr. Ellis takes his time on the salad. He takes a regular portion for himself but is careful not to get any tomatoes when getting Mr. Barrows.

Mrs. Patmore has always known Thomas does not like tomatoes, she remembers trying to force feed them to him when he was young. They all thought he would grow to like them, but the man is almost forty and shows no sign of ever enjoying the taste.

Once he is done, Ellis sits down again in his respected seat and pours two cups of tea. In once, he pours in a substantial amount of milk and adds one sugar. In the other, just a dash of milk and two sugars.

Thomas takes his tea with two sugars and a dash of milk.

She wonders how Richard can know all this, that Thomas makes a bitter face at too much white wine sauce, how tomatoes make him practically gag, and how if there’s any more or any less than two sugars in his tea he wont touch it with a ten foot pole.

When he comes back and thanks Richard with a smile, it is then she realises.

She sits down and smiles at Thomas stealing the extra cheese from Richard’s plate that he now knows he only grabbed so they could have such a domestic moment.

She miles at Daisy who is next to her, and digs in.


	4. Andy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao she kinda sexual :P  
> not too much tho

Andy finds out because he is too close to Mr. Barrow’s room.

He and Daisy have yet to be married, but he is not worried. Daisy loves him, he loves Daisy, what’s the rush?

Because of this, he is still living at Downton. Mr. Mason offered him to stay at the farm, but his neighbour Ms. Mills would have a heart attack if she found out he was living there before they were married. That and there was no doubt she’d run her mouth at the markets, and he didn’t fancy having people call his wife unsavoury names.

It is only him, Albert the hall boy, Mr. Ellis and Mr. Barrow upstairs. Their rooms are spaced apart, with two people on each side. Albert and Barrow share a side, and Andy and Ellis share the opposite side of the hall. There are two rooms between his and Ellis’, and four rooms between Barrow and Albert.

Andy, however, is at the very end of the hall, closest to the women’s side, while Albert is one door away from the end. This means the rooms are set up in a sort of diagonal way, with Albert being in the room diagonal Andy, and Ellis being in the room diagonal from Albert. Barrow is at the very opposite end of the hall, as he already has his room picked out due to being the butler.

Albert is not here.

He has gone away for three days, a generous holiday for something as simple as his sister’s wedding.

It is late, he should be asleep.

But his mind is restless, and it is futile to attempt what cannot be done.

So he lies in bed, staring at the ceiling. Wishing sleep would come up over him and drown him like a wave. His limbs begin to feel heavy, like they are becoming one with the flimsy mattress beneath him. He ceases to hear anything, the quiet darkness enveloping him as he finally begins to drift under.

Then, a noise.

He doesn’t think much of it at first, only that he is annoyed at it for having woken him.

Then, another noise. And another. And another.

As if they are coming in some sort of rhythm.

Andy sits up, curious as to what the sound is. He can’t hear much; it must be far away.

He gets out of bed.

This is a mistake.

He opens the door.

An even bigger mistake.

Andy tip toes quietly through the hall, as the noises grow louder and more frequent. They are clearer now, some sort of groan.

The noises are coming from Mr. Barrow’s room, which explains why they were so muffled to begin with. He is about to knock on the butler’s door when he is stopped by another noise.

He is standing so close he can hear the words clearly.

It is Ellis. Ellis is in the room with Barrow.

Andy has a moment of confusion, then realisation.

Perhaps Ellis is the same as Barrow. Perhaps his butler has finally found love after all.

But that would mean the sounds are…

Andy squeaks, though he doubts the men inside can hear him. Ellis is being quite loud after all, and he certainly isn’t holding back on the praise.

Oh, God. He is happy for the men; any friend of Thomas’ would be.

But the sounds are getting more frequent now, and Andy is no saint. He knows what that means.

As quietly as he came, he shuffles back to his room.

There is no chance of him sleeping tonight now.

In the morning, he says he is fine when Mrs. Hughes asks about his dark under eyes.

Ellis winces when he sits down, and Andy’s tea erupts all over his face from his sudden laughter.


	5. Daisy

Daisy finds out because Thomas tells her.

She is in the kitchen, fiddling with the dough she is making for some bread.

She is in no rush; the family is out, and the servants have a relaxed day.

Mr. Barrow walks in, but he does not admonish her for her laziness.

Instead, he asks her to make him sandwiches.

She asks why, and his response is spoken quieter than his initial greeting.

They’re for a picnic, he says.

A picnic for him and Mr. Ellis.

Daisy just smiles and says okay.

She continues making the bread, but instead of using it for toast tomorrow morning like she planned, it will instead go towards Mr. Ellis and Mr. Barrow’s picnic getaway.

She asks if ham and cheese is fine.

He smiles, with relief in his eyes, and says its okay.


	6. Phyllis

Baxter finds out because Molesly is an idiot.

At first, she finds it hard to believe.

It is just a rumour. Molesly said he overheard Mrs. Hughes and Patmore.

She supposes it isn’t that hard to believe, but she always thought she would be the first to know.

When she brings up her husband’s slip of the tongue, Thomas goes quiet.

He looks out the window of his office, begins fiddling with the pen in his hands.

He looks very much like the young boy being questioned by his father after he accidentally kicked the football through Mrs. Anderson’s front window.

Phyllis gasps.

She exclaims with delight, wanting to know all the details.

Thomas makes up an excuse that he is busy, but she knows better at the sight of his red cheeks.

Margaret used to do the same thing when Phyllis asked her about Johnny McKinnon, blush high up to her prominent cheekbones and run away.

Genetics are an amazing thing.

It’s only later, when she’s sitting with him in the hall, that she decides to broach the subject.

She tells him Ellis is a nice man, a handsome man, that she likes him and enjoys his company.

She says she thinks Thomas enjoys his company, too.

He smiles, and nods slightly.

They spend the next three hours gushing together, and Phyllis is glad that she can still gossip like mad with at least one of the Barrow’s. Thomas says things that are downright inappropriate, makes comments on Richard’s anatomy that she did not need to know, but it’s such a good time she can’t bring herself to scold him.

When she goes to bed that night, she no longer feels upset at having been told by Molesly.

She understands, Thomas understands.

The next time she sees Richard, she subtly checks him out as he walks away.

Thomas was right. He’s always right.

Richard does indeed, have a nice arse.


	7. Gertie

Gertie finds out because she is doing her job.

She’s been at Downton a while. She knows the ins and outs.

It is midday, and today is the day they will wash all the sheets.

Mrs. Hughes had sprung it up on them suddenly. They weren’t meant to wash the sheets until Friday, but the rainy weather has caused more washing to be done than normal, and the washing powder won’t last until Friday.

They are on a time limit. The sun is out, and the sheets need to be washed and hung up while it is still high in the sky.

She has been given permission from both Mrs. Hughes and Mr. Barrow to venture into the men’s side and collect their sheets.

She has been here before.

Last time they washed the sheets it was her and Amelia who had come back up to put them on.

She did Ellis and Andy’s sheets, Amelia did Mr. Barrow’s and Albert’s.

She gets Andy’s and Albert’s, next are Ellis’ sheets.

She is taking the pillow out of its case when she realises something.

There is a crease in the sheets, in the top left corner.

This is not odd, no.

But she made this bed last time.

And the crease was there when she walked out after smoothing it all over.

There’s no way Ellis could have slept in this bed and that crease would stay there.

Gertie is reminded she is on a time limit, and so she grabs the sheets and makes her way to Mr. Barrow’s room.

It is here, she realises.

Mr. Barrow’s sheets are different from the rest. Not only are they bigger to fit his bigger bed, but they are decidedly messier than anyone else’s.

She stares at the sheets, how they dip on the sides but come up in the middle like some sort of thin mountain.

It is obvious that two people have slept in this bed. That the pillows overlapping each other are because the inhabitants of this bed want to be close.

She looks down at the basket in her hands, with Ellis’ untouched sheets on top.

She recalls how both Ellis and Barrow were late this morning, and how they rushed into breakfast after everyone had sat down.

They were in a rush; they would have had no time to fix the sheets.

Gertie smiles, and takes the sheets off the bed.

She looks forward to telling her love when they are in bed tonight.

Amelia will love hearing the story, she has always suspected Mr. Barrow was…like them.

She will not, however, enjoy cleaning the sheets, Gertie thinks as her hand brushes a suspicious stain.

Oh well, she laughs, they’ve cleaned worse.


End file.
